Honeybee vs CLAWS
Two weeding machines, one verified table. Every figure below is sourced and dated; vendor claims are labelled and kept apart from independent results.
Fully autonomous battery-electric laser weeding robot from Caterra, an ETH Zürich spin-off (Glattbrugg, ZH) — deep-learning vision distinguishes crop, weed and soil, then kills weeds with laser pulses to within ~3 mm of the crop, herbicide-free and organic-certified. In pre-order as of mid-2026 after 2025 field pilots (incl. the smaller 300 kg Grasshopper test fleet of 11 units); direct sales only, no dealer network yet.
Best for: Organic and high-value vegetable growers (~10–15+ ha of annual crops) replacing labour-intensive hand weeding with 24/7 in-row laser weeding.Concentrated Light Autonomous Weeding and Scouting (CLAWS) robot from UK startup Earth Rover — its patented Lightweeder destroys the meristem of individual weeds with a short pulse of concentrated (non-laser) light, chemical-free and zero-till, on a 100% battery + solar platform with 8 onboard cameras that double as a crop-scouting system. Order book opened Q3 2025; deliveries scheduled from Q1 2026 under a weeding-as-a-service model.
Best for: Organic and chemical-free vegetable and row-crop growers (UK first) who want herbicide-free, zero-till weed control plus per-plant scouting data, paid per hectare rather than as capex.| Honeybee Verified 2026-07-16 | CLAWS Verified 2026-07-17 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Task | Weeding | Weeding |
| Autonomy | Fully autonomous | Fully autonomous |
| Country of origin | Switzerland | United Kingdom |
| Availability | Pre-order | Pre-order |
| EU market | Pending | Pending |
| Lead time | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Last verified | 2026-07-16 | 2026-07-17 |
| Specifications | ||
| Power source | Battery-electric — over 24 h per battery set, two sets supplied for 24/7 operation | 100% electric — battery + solar; battery alone runs roughly half a day, solar panels extend to a full day |
| Required tractor power | Is the vehicle (self-propelled) | Is the vehicle (lightweight autonomous platform, no tractor needed) |
| Dimensions | Track width configurable 1.50–1.80 m (beds or dams) | ~2 m working width; other dimensions not disclosed |
| Weight | Not disclosed (smaller Grasshopper pilot unit — 300 kg) | Not disclosed |
| Min farm size | ~10 ha annual crops (15+ ha ideal) | Not disclosed |
| Productivity | 24/7 capable; multiple robots can work the same field (Grasshopper pilot — ~80 m/h) | ~1.5 ha per 8 h day demonstrated; ~4 ha/day targeted for the commercial fully autonomous machine, weed burden depending |
| Max speed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Sensors | RTK-GNSS navigation · cameras with deep-learning crop/weed/soil segmentation | 8 onboard cameras (stereo imaging) · AI per-plant identification · satellite navigation · FIELD digital-twin scouting software |
| Price & model | ||
| Price (EUR) | ≈€220,000 | Not disclosed |
| Native price | ≈€220,000 purchase (4-laser) or ≈€65,000/year lease — trade-press figures, not published by Caterra | Not disclosed |
| Business model | Direct sales / pre-order via Caterra; one-year lease option reported | Weeding as a service, charged per hectare — positioned at parity with tractor-based weeding and below manual weeding cost |
| Ongoing cost | Electricity; laser and optics service (terms not disclosed) | Service-model pricing per hectare; no published machine list price |
| Key outcome | ||
| Best verified result | Hand-weeding labour in organic vegetables Autonomous 24/7 laser weeding, herbicide-free · vendor | Herbicide use Chemical-free concentrated-light weeding, zero-till; controls ALS-resistant weeds (Niab-tested, vendor-reported) · vendor |
| EU context | ||
| CE marking | Not confirmed — pre-series/pre-order stage | Not verified — pre-series Beta Pioneer machine, UK-focused rollout |
| Machinery Regulation | Swiss manufacturer — CH follows EU machinery rules via the CH–EU Mutual Recognition Agreement; EU-market conformity not yet demonstrated publicly | Post-Brexit UK machine; EU conformity route not published |
| CAP subsidy | Herbicide-free weeding aligns with CAP eco-schemes and CH Absenkpfad (pesticide-reduction) goals | Chemical-free zero-till weeding aligns with CAP eco-scheme goals, but no EU sales channel is evidenced yet |
"—" means the manufacturer has not disclosed the figure; we never estimate silently. Model either machine's payback with your own numbers on its ROI calculator page.